Press Releases

Washington, DC – Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO), Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials Chairman Daniel Webster (R-FL), and T&I Republicans from California – Reps. Doug LaMalfa, Kevin Kiley, and Vince Fong – today offered support for President Trump’s decision to pull federal funds for California’s high-speed rail project.

Chairman Graves and T&I Republicans have conducted numerous congressional oversight activities that have repeatedly identified the significant and structural deficiencies with the decades-long-delayed and vastly overbudget California high-speed rail project and have objected to the billions in federal funding directed to the project. For example, as part of the Committee’s oversight efforts, in May 2024 Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO) and then-Ranking Member of the Senate Commerce Committee Ted Cruz (R-TX) wrote a letter to the Department of Transportation (DOT) requesting DOT to turn over documents and information regarding the Biden administration’s decision to waste billions in taxpayer money on the failed project.

“It’s been clear for years that the California high-speed rail project has no reasonable or credible path forward for successful completion of the promised system, and yet the Biden Administration continued to waste billions of taxpayer dollars on it,” said T&I Committee Chairman Graves. “Pulling federal funding from this project is long overdue, and I commend President Trump, Secretary Duffy, and this administration for protecting taxpayers’ money.”

“President Trump and Transportation Secretary Duffy made the right call to end this taxpayer-funded boondoggle,” said Subcommittee Chairman Webster. “For 16 years, this project consumed billions in taxpayer dollars with no return. No track, no trains, and no accountability. The American people deserve better than to see their tax dollars spend on failed projects”

“What I’ve suspected since 2008 as a state legislator has been born out of years and years of pie in the sky projections, fake promises about the number of people to be employed, the timeline in which high-speed rail would be completed, and the price tag for the taxpayers of California, and now the entire U.S.,” said Rep. LaMalfa. “In 17 years, they’ve managed to raise about $17 billion for this project, and the price has ballooned from $33 billion to $128 billion. That puts them $111 billion short of what they say they need to complete it. There is no way the federal government and 50 states’ worth of taxpayers should be on the hook for a single dollar more as the promises have been broken and the contracts have been violated on this boondoggle. President Trump and Secretary Duffy’s instincts to pull back this Biden-era funding are right, and I greatly appreciate them taking back this $4 billion. We should be dedicating that money to real infrastructure – water storage and highway repairs that will be much more productive for Californians and Americans than continuing this boondoggle that is over $110 billion short and at least 20 years behind. I appreciate the Trump Administration and Secretary Duffy for finally putting a stop to this.”

“California high-speed rail is the worst public infrastructure disaster in U.S. history. A project that was supposed to be finished five years ago at a cost of $33 billion is now projected to take until the end of the century at a cost of $130 billion. I am grateful that President Trump and Secretary Duffy are sparing our taxpayers by cutting off federal funding. The state must now follow suit, wind this disastrous project down, and spend our transportation dollars where they are needed: our roads,” said Rep. Kiley.

“Thank you, President Trump and Secretary Duffy, for pulling the plug on California’s high-speed rail nightmare and protecting taxpayers. This wasteful, mismanaged project is billions over budget and years behind schedule. Now, we can finally reinvest in real infrastructure that actually delivers for Californians,” said Rep. Fong.

The failed California high-speed rail project was a major point of discussion at this week’s Committee hearing with Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.  Watch discussions with Rep. LaMalfa, Rep. Kiley, and Rep. Fong.